Of Memories and Futures
by ladihawk
Summary: After a heated exit from Team Rocket, our villains parted ways. Almost a decade later, fate throws them back together. Will they be able to work out their differences and forgive each other? Rated T for language through Chapter 3.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note:

So, realistically I should be finishing my other fic that's been sitting her unattended since last summer...but I can't get any inspiration on where to go with it. Instead, my brain has wandered off on a new tangent with this story...and I'm sincerely hoping I'll be able to finish this one too.

One of the complaints on my other fic is that I tend to write OOC. I am going to apologize for that ahead of time. I try my best, but I tend to have this picture in my head of what I imagine Jessie and James to act like as adults...and I feel as if James would end up the level headed, more calm one, and Jessie the flighty, untrusting one. Somewhat similar to canon, but not perfect. That said, if you dislike OOC, read at your own risk.

Another note...I figured in the series that Jessie and James were in their late teens, if not early 20's by the end of the current series, so I averaged it out and assumed they quit around 19-20 years old. That puts them at 28-30 in this fic. Misty and Brock are considerably younger, early to mid 20's. Ash at this point is not intended to be in this fic, but he may make an entrance or quick cameo at some point just for authenticity's sake. Ha. Anyhow, I'm also a tad rusty on my writing skills, so please disregard any grammatical errors. I'm guilty of the occasional run on sentence.

I hope you enjoy this fic, and please review! I will do my best to get chapters out in a timely manner, but I have a young child and don't have as much personal time as I'd like. Yes, gasp, an adult still into Pokemon. LOL. Helps that the kiddo loves the show. Re-sparked my interest in everything.

On that note...Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or anything about this. My writing, but that's all.

Prologue

It had been nine long years since Jessie, James and Meowth had quit Team Rocket. It had been a mutual decision between the 3 of them that things just weren't working out. They were tired of putting all their efforts into capturing that blasted yellow rodent and having nothing to show for it. They were tired of not having real food to eat. They were tired of having worn out clothes. They were tired of all that junk, and it all came to one fiery head that day. After an explosive argument where some awful things were said...thanks to another failed pitfall trap...the 3 villains parted ways. None of them were particularly sure if any of the others had ever really submitted a formal resignation, but no matter, they hadn't been bothered since. Luckily for them, no one at headquarters really cared that they were gone and stopped checking in. In fact, they had pretty much just slipped under the radar. Bonus, ultimately, because no one "quits" Team Rocket and lives to show for it. At least not in Giovanni's Team Rocket.

In the long run, it was no matter. Jessie rarely ever thought about it anymore, and if she did, she would quickly try to stuff those heated memories back down. It was almost hard to remember any of the good times after that final argument. Fortunately for her, Jessie's determination had carried her far. Right off the bat, despite the fresh wounds she was nursing, she shook it off and decided that she refused to let it hold her back. Their fight had happened outside Vermilion City...and James and Meowth had headed in the opposite direction. She headed back into Vermilion. At first, fear quickly surfaced, and she wondered what the hell she was going to do now. No money, no place to stay...nothing.

The next few months passed slowly as she worked random odd jobs for people. Cleaning houses, tending yards, kitchen work...you name it...it was nothing that she really enjoyed. One day, she spotted a sign on the local research lab. It read: "Wanted: Resourceful, intelligent and determined individual for a paid internship at the Kanto Oceanography Lab and Rehabilitation Center. Room and board included." For a moment, she turned up her nose in distaste. Her...a researcher? No. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that sometimes the world wasn't about show business and fame. Perhaps it was time to put those dreams aside. She was on her own now, and she really needed to figure out a way to support herself. She shoved down her pride and went inside. That was the day her new life began. She made fast friends with the Pokémon Researcher, Lana, who was surprisingly one of Misty Waterflower's cousins. Jessie studied hard and worked her way up to becoming head of the Cerulean City research and rehabilitation team. She also, despite her "better" judgement at the time, through Lana, sparked a close friendship with Misty. Even though she was still rough around the edges, with age her personality had mellowed out a bit. It certainly made things a bit easier to be more level headed.

Misty no longer traveled with Ash, and had married Brock in a lavish ceremony a few years after her and Jessie had become friends. Jessie had stood by her side at the wedding, along with her 3 sisters. Her and Misty had taken over running the Cerulean City research and rehab team, and Brock was directly in charge of the rehabilitation department. Brock and Misty had a large house just outside the city, with a small apartment above their detached garage. Misty had offered the apartment to Jessie, who gratefully accepted the offer. It had been a long time coming, but she finally had a good job and a place to call her own. In her spare time, she went back to her roots, dancing and singing at a local club, The Silver Dragonair. While she couldn't be in the spotlight directly, this gave her the opportunity to express herself, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Everything was going great, and she had fallen into normal life. Little did she know, things were about take a blast back to the past.

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful evening in Cerulean City. The water glistened under the golden hour sunlight just prior to sunset, it's light casting shadows on the stone building that was The Silver Dragonair. A young woman in her late 20's leaned up against the wall, sipping on a mocha. She checked her watch, and then quickly brushed a strand of her brown hair away from her face, revealing streaks of aquamarine color beneath the brown. She was tall and curvy, a very beautiful woman, no doubt. She smiled at the sun in the distance, enjoying it's warmth, before disappearing inside the building.

Not a moment later, from the shadows in the alleyway a block down, a sleek golden cat Pokemon darted out and entered through the still somewhat opened door before it closed. It darted into the dark side of the club and disappeared. The young woman made her way to an "Employees Only" door on the opposite side, and she too disappeared. The cat observed from it's hidden location beneath an empty table as the evening went on. He was watching the brown and aquamarine haired girl...he had wondered...could it be? In his past life...he wasn't sure how many he had already gone through out of the allotted 9 cat lives...he had been a member of Team Rocket as a talking Meowth. This girl...she reminded him of someone, although her appearance didn't match what he remembered. However, as she had stood outside the building, he had caught her scent from the alleyway, and his senses were thrown back into memories of their earlier days as thieves. At first he though to himself, there's no way...but he realized that when he had evolved into a Persian a few years back, his senses had heightened even further. The scent is right...he though to himself. He had nothing better to do at the moment, so he followed her into the building to see if he could confirm his suspicions.

He watched her dance through the evening with various other women coming and going from the stage, but the moment she stepped up to the microphone to sing...that's when he knew it was her. He carefully made his way out of the club, so as not to be seen by anyone, and decided to wait outside. An hour or so later...he wasn't quite sure, the woman and a few others exited the club, their laughter resonating in the now moonlit streets of Cerulean City. They walked down the street together, eventually splitting off, heading in their own directions. The woman was now alone. As the cat pokemon followed, he made it a point to knock down a garbage can, creating a loud noise that startled her from her thoughts. She quickly whirled around.

"Who's there?" She said, voice raised, moving her body into a defensive position.

A shadowed figure moved out from behind the toppled can. She could barely make out the form, save for a red charm on top of the creature's head. A flashback hit her...of Giovanni's Persian coming to find her. For a moment, she panicked. Her heart skipped a beat, and her breath caught in her throat. After all this time? Then, the cat spoke.

"Is dat how youse greet an ole friend, Jessie? Jeez, I'm hurt!" it said, feigning surprise and sadness.

As if her heart had already skipped a beat, she wasn't quite sure how many it had just skipped when she heard the Persian speak. "Wait...no way...Meowth? That can't be you, can it? How did you recognize me?" She said, her mouth agape.

"Well, I dunno, how many udder Pokémon do youse know dat can speak human? Of course it's me. I jus evolved into dis here Persian a few years ago in hopes of learnin payday. Still no luck. I'm jus doomed. And I recognized youse by your scent. Evolvin did a number on my senses...I swear I can smell noises and hear smells, hehe..." he said, being his dramatic old self. Jessie briefly chuckled, and then looked at him skeptically.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said you were going to Kalos and never coming back," she said, immediately taking the defensive. All those old feelings from their fight had resurfaced all at once, overwhelming her emotions. She bit her lip and looked at the cat.

"Welllll...youse see, Kalos jus wasn't a good place fer me. Eider people wanted me cuz I can talk human, or dey just saw me as a nuisance. So I came back to Kanto a few years ago. Now, I just run da streets here. It works for me..." he trailed off, as it was a bit of a lie. He and James had stuck together after Jessie had left. By her quick jump on the defensive, he assumed she wasn't quite ready for that tidbit of information yet. "I jus happened to catch youse scent down by dat club, and tot I'd folluh ya and see if it really was youse...I mean, lookin different an all."

Jessie nodded curtly. "Got it. Well, now you know. I changed some things to break away from my past, and despite that, you seem to have one upped me." She paused, clearly troubled. "Uhm, It was nice seeing you again, Meo...er, Persian."

Persian, taking the hint that she really didn't want to continue the conversation, turned and began to walk the way he had come. "Alrite Jess...nice seein youse too. Hope loife is treatin youse well," he said, his voice carrying a saddened note. And with that, he bounded off into the darkness.

After he had gone, Jessie stood motionless on the sidewalk. She glanced up at the moon, her mind and emotions reeling. That was one of the very last things she had ever expected. All that time had passed, she figured her Team Rocket days, and teammates, were long gone. Clearly, she had been very wrong.

The evening had picked up a bit of a chill...she pulled her jacket a bit closer, and continued walking home. When she arrived, she went straight inside, took a hot shower and then went immediately to bed.

-X-

Persian bounded down the streets, he too with emotions sky high. He hung a right at the last intersection in town, headed out toward the forest between Cerulean and Pewter City. A mile or so further, he took off up a long dirt road that snaked it's way up a large hill. At the top of the hill sat a large cabin, overlooking the city and the water. There was a large cat flap door on the side of the house, and he slipped inside.

He was startled to see his best friend asleep on the couch in the living room, instead of in his bed upstairs. The lavender haired human was snoring lightly, still in his daytime clothes, and a book resting on his chest. Persian padded over and nudged the man's hand gently. The man stirred, and slowly sat up.

"Persian...ugh, I must have fallen asleep here on the couch. What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands.

"Youse dun wanna know, trus me...it's late," Persian said, as he jumped onto the opposite end of the large, cushy couch.

"I guess I'd better get up to my bed to finish out the night...however long that may be," he said, getting ready to stand, despite his unsteadiness from being awoken rather abruptly.

Persian quickly put a paw on his arm and said, "Wait, Jim. I tink I've got sometin youse might want tuh hear." His voice was raised a bit, and it was obvious to James that he had something exciting to share. The man nodded at the cat, through a yawn.

"Go ahead, tell me."

Persian grinned, showing his sharp incisors. "Youse'll neva guess who i'se bumped inta tonite!"

"A big, fat, juicy raticate?"

"Nono youse silly. An ole friend of ours! Can ya guess?" Persian exclaimed, though he turned up his nose at the thought of a raticate. "But really Jim...a raticate?! Those tings are mangy and full uh fleas!"

James chuckled and ruffled the cat's fur on the back of his head. "I'm just kidding. I know how much you hate those. But really, I don't know." He had a fleeting thought that it might have been Jessie, but he quickly pushed it away. There's no chance he could be that lucky.

"Jim...it was Jess. She looked totally different...but it was her. Ise caught her scent outside a club in Cerulean, followed the goil inside, and watched for a bit. At foist ise wasn't sure if it really could be her...but moi Persian senses are much better den when ise was a Meowth...so ise trusted my gut. She was dancin with some udder girls, and den when she started singin, ise jus knew it really was Jessie. Ise followed her after she was done an got her attention. Wese talked fer a minute and she realized who ise was. She didn't seem too happy to see me doe..." his excitement quickly faded as he came to the end of his explanation, his ears flattening back sadly. He hung his head down.

On the other side of the couch, James' voice had caught in his throat. Ok, so maybe he really was that lucky. Or...perhaps not, he thought, after Persian had explained what happened. He had always wondered what would happen if they ever reconnected. Would she hate him for what he had said when they parted ways? His heart hurt for a moment, as he feared the worst. In truth, he had said some pretty nasty things to her. But, she had also been vicious with her words to him as well. All of them had. He wondered if it was something that could ever be remedied.

"Wow."

That was all James could say at the moment. He took a quick minute to gather his thoughts, and Persian kept silent as he observed James' response to the news. The cat could sense that the human's emotions were flying a million different directions. He could sense elation, fear, sadness, and hope...all in one. James then spoke again.

"Well...I guess it's for the best. I am glad to hear that she is doing well, though. That does settle some unease and unanswered questions at least."

Persian smiled a soft smile. Then, the soft smile morphed into a classic Persian grin. "Perhaps. Jim, I tink youse should try and talk to her. Ise dun know if anyting would come from it, but it's woith a try. Hey...we can even put youse in a disguise fer ole times sake! Maybe feel her out and see if youse tink she'd want to talk to her ole pal James! No one knows Jess bedda den youse!"

James got excited for a moment, but then forlornly looked at Persian and said, "Well, I used to know her. Who knows how or what she's like now."

"But it's woith a try at least, doncha tink?" Persian replied in excitement, as he jumped toward James, his big paws landing on the human's chest with a thud.

James coughed out a bunch of air as the paws impacted his chest. Out of breath, he responded..."Fine...I'll try it. With a disguise. Just for you, buddy. But...can you let me sleep and we will discuss the details in the morning?"

Persian nodded, removing his paws from James' chest. "Shoire, Jim. Ise will hafta see when she's woikin next, I don't know where she lives. "  
James responded with his own nod, and then rose and headed for the stairs. "Night, Persian. See you in the morning." He went up, changed into boxer shorts and a tank, and crawled into bed. He quickly fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning, Jessie awoke abruptly to the sound of her alarm going off. For a second, she thought it was a work day, but quickly checked her phone and confirmed that she had in fact forgotten to turn off the alarm the night before. It was Saturday, fortunately she didn't work on the weekends. Perks of a research job, she thought. She stretched beneath the sheets, and since she wasn't in a hurry to get up, she got comfortable again and closed her eyes.

However, the reverie didn't last long, because the events from the prior night flooded back into her thoughts. Her eyes snapped open, as she thought about Persian. She was surprised he had evolved, he had always said he never wanted to. He had tried and tried to learn the attack pay day in the past to help them out, but it hadn't worked. In a way, she wasn't surprised however, that evolving wasn't the solution to learning the attack either. She figured some Pokemon just couldn't learn certain attacks for whatever reason. Part of her research had shown similar findings, but in water type species. Jessie chuckled at herself. "Oh, if they knew where I was now. They'd never believe that perfect Jessie, princess and top coordinator wannabe, is now a Pokémon researcher, of all things..." she said aloud to herself, then smiled. Ultimately, she was proud of herself for setting a goal and achieving it.

She rose from the bed and went into her small kitchen to make some coffee. There was a small Horsea in a large aquatic tank on the far wall of the kitchen, and it greeted her with a puff of bubbles and an elated "HorSEA!" She grinned and responded, "Good morning, little one. How are you feeling? I'd assume by your reaction, you're feeling better?" The little creature nodded and bobbed up and down in the water. This little Horsea had been caught up in a local fishery's nets a week or so prior, and had sustained some minor injuries. Brock had taken it into the rehab center, but the little seahorse had grown fascinated with Jessie for some reason. It had also made friends with Misty's Kingdra, which had evolved from the Horsea she saved back when she was travelling with Ash.

When Jessie, James and Meowth had split, Jessie didn't know that her Pokeballs with her Gourgeist and Wobbufet were in James' pack. She had forgotten that she placed them there the night before for safe keeping as her own backpack's zipper had broken. Unfortunately, when she remembered, it had been too late. When she took on the internship at the research facility, she found herself drawn to water types. Jessie believed that is one of the reasons her friendship with Misty was able to grow. They were able to relate on a variety of levels, and once Misty was able to get past the fact that Jessie was once part of Team Rocket, they became quite close. Misty helped her with her studies and they often trained together with their Pokémon. Jessie had captured a Mantine shortly after she started working at the facility, and painstakingly captured and trained a Magikarp into a Gyarados, which was her pride and joy. She had worked incredibly hard to get where she was now.

Her current research was on the local Remoraid population, and why it had been declining over the past few years. They hadn't come to a final solution yet, but they were gathering as much evidence and information as possible. She found she really enjoyed the work. Oftentimes she would get to go out in the submarine pod for up close research, and it was always fascinating to her. She was startled out of her thoughts (which seemed a bit like various bunny trails on this morning) by the beeping of the coffee maker, signaling it was done brewing. Jessie poured herself a hot cup of the dark brown liquid gold, and dropped in a sugar cube, stirring. She sat down at the kitchen table, pulling out her research notebook to go over the week's work, and to help distract her thoughts from Persian and their chance encounter last night.

A few moments later, the phone rang. It was her boss from The Silver Dragonair. She worked there just part time, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night as a dancer and singer.

"Hi Jessie. I was wondering if you could come in a bit early tonight? Melody spent the night throwing up and doesn't feel like she's up to working. I hoped that maybe you'd want some extra hours by adding her early shift onto your later shift. I'll throw in a few extra bucks for you if you want."

Jessie smiled. "Sure, I don't mind. I've got nothing else going on. I figured I'd just spend my day working on my research."

"You take your work home on weekends too? Well, you're certainly dedicated! Thanks Jess, her shift starts at 5, and goes to 8. So you'll have hers plus your normal 8-11," her boss told her.

"Perfect, I'll see you at 5 then," Jessie replied, and hung up. She didn't mind working at the club, it was a fun place to work. It wasn't your typical night club, like, strippers and sleazy drinks, it was a classy upper level one. They served good food, good drinks, and good entertainment. The girls were extremely talented dancers and regardless of what music was thrown onto the radio, they were quick to adapt. Usually the evenings ended with karaoke, and if there wasn't much public interest, they'd try to lead the pack and sing some of their own karaoke songs. Jessie enjoyed singing and didn't mind being the first to jump out there for it.

In the meantime, she continued pouring over her research, trying to link evidence as to why the Remoraid population was suddenly in such a state of disrepair. Something had to be going on down in the reef, and she was determined to find out what it was. The following weekend she intended to take out the research pod early Saturday morning to take a look. Her weekday schedule was too full to accommodate that excursion at the moment, she had two local school tours to do this week, and various other tasks. One major one was to help Brock and Misty move the inhabitants from the rehabilitation center into their new building that had just been finished. They were jumping from a very small space to a much larger one, hopefully opening up more opportunities to help creatures in need.

Eventually, she broke from her papers to meet Misty for lunch at the local café, known for it's hot sandwiches and soups. Misty had called her and as soon as she found out Jessie was working on research stuff on her weekend, she immediately insisted that she get out of the house and meet her for lunch. Jessie agreed, and an hour or so later, the two were seated in a booth at the far side of the café, overlooking the water.

"Mist, you'll never in a million years guess what happened after I left the Dragonair last night," Jessie said, twirling her straw in her drink. They had already ordered and were awaiting their food, carrying on light conversation. Misty refused to let the subject drift to work. She had begun to realize that Jessie had turned into a bit of a workaholic, despite being somewhat happy that Jessie had found something she could pour her heart into. Misty was pleased to hear the conversation turning to something of exciting interest.

Misty raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Did Ash show up on Charizard in a blazing firestorm and proclaim he is the king of the universe?" She giggled. She could never get over his arrogance, and occasionally poked fun at him.

"As humorous as that would have been, no. Even more shocking!" Jessie responded, laughing at the image Misty had created in her head of Ash being dramatic. "I was walking home, and I heard a noise...so I turned around and there was a Persian standing there. But not just any Persian. It was Meowth. He evolved at some point, I guess. I was so shocked to see him, I didn't even know how to react. I have no idea how he recognized me. He says his senses have gotten better after evolving and that he picked up my scent...and then followed me into the club. When he heard me sing, that's when he said he knew it was me. I'm not really even sure how to feel. Part of me is so angry, and the other part of me...just...I don't know. It certainly threw my emotions for a loop. I buried myself in my research today to forget about it, I guess." She shifted in her seat, looking uneasy.

Misty gaped for a moment. "Wow, that's certainly a surprise. Quite the blast from the past. You handled it better than I would have, most likely. I mean, if Ash really did show up in a fiery blaze on his lunatic Charizard proclaiming his dignity..I may not have been so nice!" She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. She could tell that Jessie was a bit distressed by the situation.

"Truth..." Jessie replied with a laugh. "I can always count on you to cheer me up."

The server promptly arrived with their lunch, both had ordered soup and a half a sandwich. They dug in, with occasional conversation here and there. When they had finished, the girls parted ways. Jessie went back to her apartment to shower and get ready for work, while Misty went to find Brock and assist with tending to the rehab Pokémon patients.

-X-

James and Persian had gone through a million different plans that morning and afternoon as they tried to determine how to approach the situation. Just like old times, they thought. Persian had at first wanted James to dress up as another woman...and James vehemently shot that idea down.

"No Persian. I will NOT parade around in a woman's getup ever again. Those days are good and gone." He stuck out his lower lip indignantly. "I just won't do it!"

Persian snicked. "Suit youself, Jimmy boy. Goils usually talk bedda wit udda goils. Ise tink youse have a chance dat way." He grinned mischeviously at James.

"Nope, no can do." James said, giving Persian a sideways glare.

Early afternoon, they were still debating back and forth, sitting out on the porch of their cabin under the warm late spring sunshine. For a little while, both were deep in thought. All of a sudden, Persian bounced up from his position laying down on the wooden boards, enthusiastically. "Ise got it! Do youse remember dat outfit youse used ta wear ta Jessie's showcases? Ise tink that's uppa classy enough for da Dragonair, and if wese put a twist on it, she won't recognize ya! A darka colored pair of jeans an a blaza, with a hat and ya hair pulled back wit some glasses an ya all set! No way she could see trough dat!" he exclaimed.

James nodded in approval. "I think you're right, dear feline! It might just work! I'll go upstairs and see what I have that might work." He rose from the porch steps.

"Aright...Ise gonna head down towad da city an see if ise can't find out when Jess woiks next. Hopefully she'll be dere tonight!" With that, he took off on the dirt road, down toward Cerulean.

James meandered his way up the stairs, wondering whether this was really a good idea or not. He trusted Persian and hoped that the scratch cat was right. He went to his closet and fished out his nicest pair of dark jeans, a white t-shirt and a dark colored blazer to wear over it. He scrunched up his face at the sight of the blazer...he really just preferred his light colored jeans and a tank top. His childhood in the lap of luxury had nothing but ruined him when it came to fancy clothes, or anything close to it. He shrugged and tossed the clothes onto his bed in case he needed them later. In the meantime, he went back downstairs to see what was on TV.

-X-

About an hour later, Persian returned, huffing loudly from running up the hill. "Man, ise need some more exacise. Or Ise getting too old for dis!" He came into the cabin through the cat flap, and noticed James was planted in practically the same position on the couch that he was last night when he had gotten back home, although this time he wasn't sleeping. James hadn't heard Persian come through the flap over the sound of the TV, so the cat launched himself over the back of the couch, landing squarely in James' lap.

"Holy mother of Mew!" He yelled, shoving the cat off of him. "PERSIAN! Why do you do that?!" He wailed in typical James fashion.

"Dear Jimbo...dats exactly why. Youse reactions are jus too good ta pass up!" He said through laughter. Catching his breath, the cat turned to face the irritated human. "Good news, Jess is woikin tonight! She is coverin a shift for someone else, as well as her own." Persian grinned proudly, happy that he had been able to catch a glimpse of her just in time as she was walking in for her shift, and happened to overhear her schedule. "Go get ready, she's woikin till 11!"

James grumbled a bit, and went upstairs to change.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jessie was enjoying her evening at work, she really did love the "show business" world. Her dreams of fame and fortune had fast waned as she grew older, but there was just something special about getting up on stage to dance and sing her heart out, regardless of whether it was just a weekend job or not. She had made some great friends out of her coworkers, people she could count on and trust. These had been the first years of her life where she actually had people she could just call up and chat with. It was certainly a nice change of pace.

The Dragonair was an upbeat, upper classy place, playing the newest tunes from various different genres of music, but the most common was dubstep and beats that were easily danced to. Karaoke nights typically went pop culture, with the biggest top hits of the month. The girls that worked there prided themselves on their ability to quickly adapt to different music styles, both singing and dancing. They never dressed trashy, the Dragonair provided them with dancing outfits that changed a few times throughout the year. The outfits were comfortable and modest. Jessie had almost ended up working at a sleazy bar for a while, catering to those naughtier needs, but ended up taking the internship instead. She had discovered the Dragonair after her move to Cerulean, and gladly took on the weekend job as a bit of a release from her research work.

Tonight, since she was covering for one of the other girls, she tried to conserve her energy a bit since she was working an extra 3 hours. It was Saturday, and the Dragonair was hopping with patrons. The bar was busy serving up cocktails, and Jessie and her fellow dancer, Kasie, were keeping the crowd entertained as they danced to a peppy dubstep song with some deep bass.

It was about 9:45 when James finally got the courage to go into the club, despite his disguise. Persian had come down with him in his Jeep, and they had argued for at least an hour over James actually getting OUT of said vehicle. The cat stayed close to the Jeep just in case they needed to leave in a hurry. Old habits die hard, he always said.

James walked over to the bar, taking a seat with a view of the stage. He nonchalantly looked over his shoulder and watched as the two dancers kept the beat, always moving and flowing with the music. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he got a good look at the girl who he assumed was Jessie...brown and teal hair in ringlet curls that flowed about halfway down her back, the rest pinned up away from her face. Her body was curvy, and had filled out since their Team Rocket days, thanks to having real meals and good nutrition. Her dance outfit was a muted pink color with black accents, essentially a classier pair of booty shorts and a modest tank top. He grinned inwardly, the outfit, although it was modest, still left almost nothing to the imagination. Her curves were clearly visible...and for a second he berated himself for immediately thinking about such things. He refocused as the bartender came over and asked him if he needed a drink. He nodded, and ordered a shot of whiskey. He figured getting some hard liquor into his system might quell the nervous butterfrees that had recently taken up residence in his abdomen.

He knocked back the shot quickly, and returned his gaze on the stage. James could easily tell that Jessie truly enjoyed being here. She was relaxed and smiling...a sight that he wished he had seen more of in their past. 'Although,' he thought, 'it's certainly hard to be positive when you're dealt a hand of nothing but negative cards.' He grumbled a bit and wiggled around nervously in his seat. A younger blonde girl bumped into his shoulder, and he blushed as she apologized, continuing on her way. He was never good with women. He wasn't sure if he ever WOULD be good with women. For years the other Team Rocket agents ridiculed him, calling him "gay boy" or other untasteful names. Sometimes he wondered if there was some truth to what they said, but deep down inside though, he knew he was drawn to women and not men. He shrugged off the thought.

Eventually as 11 o'clock grew closer, the music began to wind down and patrons began to slowly leave with their respective parties. At 10:55, the two girls quickly dismissed themselves and disappeared backstage. James' nerves skyrocketed. This was it. The bar itself didn't close until 2am, so he stayed where he was and waited.

About 15 minutes passed, and he was lost in his thoughts.

All of a sudden, someone lightly shoved his shoulder, breaking his trance. He quickly looked up, into the face of none other than Jessie!

She had a half smirk on her face, and had her arms crossed. She had changed into grey leggings with black mid calf boots and a long black tunic, and her ringlet curls let down completely. "Did you really come in here thinking I wouldn't be able to see through your disguise? You should know me better than that." She laughed. For a moment, James thought he picked up a hint of nervousness in her brief laughter.  
She was looking at him pointedly. "It occurred to me this afternoon that there was a good chance of you being around with Persian here. Something in the back of my mind said that you two would have stuck together. Seems as if my suspicions were correct."

James could only nod.

"Cat got your tongue? No pun intended, really." Jessie said.

Eventually, he spoke. "Hi, Jessie. I thought it would be easier to just watch from a distance by using this disguise, but I guess you're right...I should have assumed you'd see right through it."

She chuckled again. "It's kind of hard to miss that lavender hair of yours. Not many other people have hair like that. Anyway, it was good seeing you." With that, she turned on her heels and walked out toward the entrance.

For a moment, he was stunned, but after a minute passed and before he could think, James stood up and yelled "Stop, Jessie!" The people in the bar stared at him as he ran after her. She had already made it outside and was walking down the road. The streetlights illuminated her in a shadowy form as she picked up her pace. This was a confrontation she did not want and was not ready for, however, unfortunately for her, James had always been a fast runner and he quickly caught up to her.

He reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Jessie, please stop. We need to talk," he squeaked, breathlessly. His emerald eyes, lit up by the moonlight, showed fear and apprehension.

"No, James. We don't need to talk. This ended 9 years ago, and it needs to stay that way. We were just coworkers. Now we aren't, and it's time to get on with our lives. Up until this point, I had been doing just fine with that process!" She spat angrily. Waves of emotions hit her like a brick wall, the first being anger. A moment later, a wave of nausea hit her...which she could only assume was nerves. In a matter of a few seconds, she had hit 3 separate emotions. Anger, fear, and nervousness. None of which she dealt with well, even now, as an older, mature Jessie. When this many emotions hit, all she could do was retreat.

"Please, Jessie. Just for a few minutes. We owe each other that much!" James whined, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I don't owe you ANYTHING!" she yelled, with a fire in her own eyes. She wasn't sure ultimately if that fire was backed by true anger, or an anger built up from hurt. At this point, she didn't care though. She glared at him and wrenched her arm out of his grasp. "Don't touch me."

She quickly backed away from him, her hand out in an effort to keep him at bay. He saw her gesture and dropped down to his knees in defeat. "Please...," he whispered, looking up at her, tears visibly spilling out. "I'm sorry for everything, I really am."

"It's in the past. I'm over it, and I want to keep it that way. Please stay away from me, James," she said firmly.

After a moment of silence, she whirled around and ran.

All James could do was sit there on his knees, tears continuing to fall. He had been afraid this would happen. Persian slowly padded up to him, and put a heavy paw on his friend's shoulder.

"Ise sorry, James. I feel like dis is my fault."

"Nono, Persian, it's not. Really, this was never any of your fault in the first place. You were the one who always tried to keep us from arguing." James said through his tears. "Let's go home." He stood up, and walked back to the Jeep. His head was hung in shame, as a few of the patrons from the club pointed and laughed at him. It hurt, he always felt like he was a laughing stock wherever he went. Some things just never change, he thought. He and Persian got in, started up the vehicle, and drove home.

-X-

It was about midnight, and Misty was up sitting at the couch in her living, reading a book that she had gotten into earlier that day and couldn't put down. The light was on behind her, and she heard a soft knock at the door. She stood, wondering who would be out this late, and peered out the peephole. She saw Jessie standing there, clearly distraught. Her makeup was smeared from tears, and she was shaking. Misty quickly unlocked and opened the door.

"Jessie, what happened?!" Misty exclaimed worriedly, pulling her inside. She looked Jessie up and down for any other signs of what had occurred. The older woman just stood there shaking and crying. Misty decided to just let her be for a few minutes. She gave her a hug and then guided her over to the couch. "When you're ready to talk, I'm happy to listen."

Jessie nodded and buried her face in her hands. She took a few deep breaths to ground herself, and her tears slowly stopped.

When she had calmed down enough, she lifted her head out of her hands and spoke. "You know how I told you earlier that I ran into Persian last night? Well, tonight it was James. I should have figured he wasn't far behind if that cat was around." She gritted her teeth. "I don't even know what I'm feeling right now. It goes from raging anger, to sadness, to frustration all within minutes. I just don't know."

Misty looked at her with an unreadable expression. "I don't really know what to say, Jess. I wish I had answers for you. I know that if I was in your shoes, I'd be uncomfortable too. It's hard to go a long time and then have something or someone from your past pop up again. Especially someone you've had as volatile a history with as James. Do you want to talk more and see if we can work out what you're feeling?" she asked gently.

"No, I honestly am so overwhelmed right now that I can't think straight. I think I need a shot of 151 and my bed. I just needed to get it off my chest. I saw your light on and figured I'd take the opportunity. I shouldn't keep you from Brock this late." Jessie replied quietly as she stood and walked to the door. "I appreciate you being here for me."

Misty followed her, and gave her a hug. Jessie smiled forlornly at her, and said goodbye. She walked quietly across the gravel parking area leading to the detached garage with her apartment above. She unlocked the door and went up the stairs. She poured herself a double shot of rum, pinched her nose, and dumped it back. With that, she flopped down on her bed and cried. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

James wasn't himself the next few days, and it was completely and utterly obvious to Persian. The scratch cat tried his usual crazy and goofy antics to try and bring James out of his stupor, but nothing was working.

The following weekend, after a long workweek, Persian decided that it was time for James to get out of the rut he was in. The cat woke up early, and consequently woke his human friend up shortly thereafter.

"James, Ise tired of dis depression youse is in. Ise gets it, ise really do. Butcha gotta knock it off. Ise knows it hurts. It hurts me too. Trust me." Persian said, sharpening his claws. "Don't make me use fury swipes on ya!"

James shrugged. "I guess it's just a hard reality to face. I made some serious mistakes that I'm massively regretting now. I valued our friendship more than that, and I let the heat of a tough moment beat me. I never should have said what I did to her."

"Ise hears ya, Jim. Whaddya say we take da boat out fer a spin taday? Maybe catch us some grub?" Persian suggested, using his biggest, pleading kitten eyes.

James agreed, and they began their preparations.

-X-

Jessie was also not herself the following week after she had her run in with James. She had tried desperately to focus on her research, but she was struggling to make any progress. Her two school class tours went by without a hitch, but she felt disconnected. Normally she really enjoyed showing the young students the research facility, and especially the rehabilitation center. This time though, she just lacked the enthusiasm. Even Brock and Misty noticed. Misty was especially concerned, and occasionally tried to talk to Jessie about it, but was quickly shut down. It was obvious that Jessie just wasn't willing to talk about it.

The weekend eventually came, and the one thing she had been looking forward to all week was her planned trip in the submarine research pod. She woke up early, around 6am, packed her gear, and went out to the pod launch bay.

-X-

Flashback...9 years prior, in Kalos.

They had blasted off again, in not so glorious fashion. They landed abruptly in a tree, crashing down limb by limb. James groaned as he hit the ground, followed by Jessie, who landed directly on top of him. He groaned again, louder. Finally, Meowth crashed down on top of James. Both of the humans groaned.

Jessie hissed angrily, "GET OFF me, Meowth!" She shoved the cat off her, hard. He skidded backward into a rock. His eyes flashed with fury.

"How dare youse throw me like dat!" He bared his claws and stood, growling.

"Don't you even think about it, you mangy feline!" Jessie screeched, pulling out her mallet.

James immediately covered his head, still on the ground. "Come on Jessie, do we really have to do this?" he whined.

Unfortunately for him, his whining just fueled her fire. She was so tired of listening to his incessant whining every time they failed. She whirled back his direction.

"What did you say? YES, we have to do this. This is all your fault! If it wasn't for your ridiculous schemes, maybe we'd have captured that stupid rodent by now! But NO, James always has to mess everything up. I've never met someone so klutzy, so brainless...so...so...utterly STUPID!" She screamed, stomping her foot down in rage.

James was stunned for a moment. He knew she had a temper, but this had surpassed anything he was used to. Sure, she called him an imbecile here, and an idiot there, but what stunned him this time was the force behind her anger. He wanted to slink back in fear, but suddenly, his hurt morphed into an intense anger that he hadn't ever felt before. He was tired of being insulted. Tired of being hurt. Tired of being blamed. They were all at fault. They were a team. Weren't they?

He rose, and faced her. "Well, maybe if you weren't such a BITCH, we might actually succeed!"

She gaped. "What did you say...?" She uttered. But before she could do anything else, he was in her face.

"You heard me! I'm tired of you belittling me! YOU ARE AN OUTRIGHT BITCH AND I'M SICK OF IT!" He seethed. He had never been this angry before, and frankly, it frightened him a little.

Jessie backed up a little, taken aback, but still just as angry. "So leave then!" She responded.

"You know what, I think that's a good idea. Clearly, this team is not what it used to be!" He too backed up, the other direction. Meowth stood and came up between them.

"Come on youse guys...we've always been able ta woik trough our issues."

"No, Meowth. I'm sick of this!" James yelled, glaring at the cat.

"Me too. You both are nimrods and I'm better off without you! Good riddance!" She turned on her heel to leave, but stopped. She paused for a moment, and then ripped her white t-shirt emblazoned with the red Team Rocket R off her chest, and threw it on the ground. "This team is DONE!"

She looked at James and lashed out once more. "Go back to your fiancé, James. Perhaps she can beat that whiny attitude out of you with her whip!" She laughed meanly, and took off the other way.

James was completely stunned. Did she really just say that? He shook it off quickly yelled, "At least someone could love me! No one could ever love a lunatic like you!"

Jessie pretended she didn't hear him, and kept running the other way. Later that evening, with the last bit of her money, she boarded a plane back to Kanto.

James and Meowth, although there was still some tension between them, were able to work out their differences. They decided to stick together. The two stayed in Kalos for a few years, stealing their way through life, before moving back to Kanto, accepting a distant job offer to work on a fishing boat based out of Cerulean City in an attempt to live an honest life instead.

-X-

Back to the Present

Persian was enjoying the sunshine on the deck of the boat, curled up in a ball just below the bow. It was smooth sailing on the water, winds were light and there was nary a cloud in the sky. James had just set the downrigger up with a net below, hoping to snag a few fish. Recently, their bounty had consisted of merely Remoraid and nothing more. They had hoped their luck would change today. For years they had worked for Cerulean Fish Co as deck hands, and recently, James had been promoted to Captain of his own ship, The Lady. It had paid good money, and they had been able to buy the land their cabin was on. The two of them had built the cabin themselves over the last 4 years, just recently finishing that past summer. They were proud of their accomplishments, even if they weren't filthy stinking rich.

James sat down on the deck next to Persian, and popped open a soda bottle. He let out an excited "oooh!" as he realized the bottle cap was one he didn't have in his vast collection, tucking it away in his pocket for safe keeping. He had set the downrigger for 20 minutes from now, which would automatically pull up the net to check and see if they had caught anything. In the meantime, he enjoyed the sun, trying not to let his thoughts wander to the events of that past week, or any time in the past, really. He began to doze off...

...and was abruptly woken by a loud thud on the side of the boat. He jumped up and ran to the railing. He looked down, and saw a small submarine pod tangled in the netting below. It had crashed into the side of boat, resulting in the loud thud. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the glass in the main window of the pod had been broken, and there was a body hanging from the netting, floating on top of the water.

His heart stopped. He jumped into the water, and swam over to the person. James turned the body over, and gasped in shock. He knew those bright blue eyes anywhere. He screamed up to Persian to help him. The cat immediately jumped into action, and threw the life ring down. James grabbed ahold, and Persian used all of his strength to hoist it to the deck.

James quickly grabbed her body, and laid her back onto the deck. He reached for her wrist and felt for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there.

"Persian, quickly sail us back into the harbor and call 911. Have an ambulance meet us at the dock." Persian nodded and started the boat's engine, then he reached for the emergency phone. He quickly explained the situation to the dispatcher and told them they were on their way.

In the meantime, James was tending to a large gash on Jessie's leg, presumably from the broken glass on the pod. He had grabbed the emergency first aid kit, and was attempting to sterilize and clean the gash. He was shocked that she hadn't regained consciousness. He did his best, but eventually stopped, deciding that first aid was not his forte and it was better left to the EMT's that would meet them at the dock.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the dock. He quickly secured the boat and the EMT's jumped aboard. They moved her onto a stretcher, and into the awaiting ambulance. The lead EMT thanked him for his quick arrival to the dock, and then they were on their way to the hospital.

James and Persian were left standing on the pier. It had happened so quickly, neither of them had any time to really process the situation. "Well, dat was interestin," Persian said, staring off in the direction the ambulance had gone.

"Yes, yes it was." James replied, nodding, his mouth slightly agape. Of all people, it had to be her. Fate just wouldn't let them be, now would it?

"Should we goes ta da hospital an check on her?" Persian asked, looking up at James with a quizzical look on his face.

"I guess it's probably the right thing to do," James replied. They both walked over to the Jeep, and made their way to the hospital.

-X-

Jessie's excursion out with the submarine pod had started out uneventful, the water was calm and clear. She could see various different Pokémon species flitting about amongst the coral and underwater vegetation. She made various notes in her notebook in regard to current water temperature, locations, and other factors. She had yet to see any Remoraid on this trip. She had however seen a large Lanturn, who had spooked at the sight of the submarine, taking off into the depths beyond.

The submarine was set to cruise at about 2 miles per hour, water resistance made for a very different world beneath the waves. It was a decent enough pace to cover some ground, but also not so fast that she couldn't make some good observations. The sunlight from above danced around in the long sea grass, casting shadows onto the seafloor. It was a beautiful scene, and she remembered why she enjoyed this work so much now. Jessie grinned as she made a quick sketch of a sea plant she hadn't seen before. Sure, she wasn't the best of artists, but it made her research journal a bit more exciting when she had a drawing to go with a description.

Eventually, she readied the submarine to head back toward Cerulean. All systems were working properly and they were moving at a good pace.

All of a sudden, she heard a strange grinding noise, and the propeller stopped abruptly. The submarine swung forward, and then upward, strangely. It was quite light in water than on dry ground. Her body was flung forward onto the control panel. She stood up, dazed, as the sub started back the other direction. She lost her footing again, before she realized the submarine was being dragged upward again. She tried to override the controls, but nothing was working. Panic had begun to set in.

She pushed herself up against the side window, in an attempt to see what was happening, to no avail. The sub lurched once again, and she was thrown backward into the seat. All of a sudden, the inside of the pod grew dark, and she looked up, just as it was about to hit the side of what she quickly presumed was a very large fishing boat. Upon the initial impact, the front window shattered. She was terrified, but she knew she couldn't stay in the pod. She threw her body through the new opening in the window, her leg catching on one of the remaining glass shards. She inhaled in pain, drawing water into her lung cavity. She sputtered, and used all of her arm strength to try to pull herself up and through the water. Her vision began to blur and even though she neared the surface, before she could get there, her injured leg became tangled in the netting that had ensnared the submarine pod. Fear filled her thoughts as the net continued to wrap around her leg...and she blacked out.


	5. Chapter 5

Quick Author's Note...

Thank you everyone for the reviews so far! I'm enjoying writing this. It'll probably take me a week or two between chapters to get the next one up, so bear with me. I am pretty busy, but will do my best to get them out at a decent pace so you aren't waiting forever.

Keep reviewing, would love to hear your thoughts!

Onward!

Chapter 5

A few hours later, James and Persian were seated in the waiting room at Cerulean Hospital. The nurses had told them to wait there, as they were not immediate family, so they did as they were asked. Part of James just wanted to go home, but the other part of him told him that he needed to stay. The latter won out on the matter, thanks to a little coaxing by the ever confident Persian. A nurse had been out a few minutes ago to talk to them briefly, letting them know that Jessie was still unconscious, but her vital signs were doing good.

"Donchu worry Jim, she'll be jus fine. And I'se shoire she'll wanna talk ta youse now!" Persian exclaimed, patting James' knee with gusto and a big grin. Deep down inside, he was still concerned on both accounts, the first being, would she be okay, and the second, would she even consider a conversation with her former partner? He kept the faith, regardless, because he knew that if he let his spirits down, James' most certainly would fail as well. James only nodded at him and brushed Persian's paw away.

It was then that a familiar face appeared in the waiting room. An older, more mature, but still familiar face.

"Misty?!" James and Persian said incredously, in unison.

The orange haired girl turned to look in the direction of which the voices had come from. For a moment, she was surprised to see James and Persian there. 'I wonder what they're doing here? How did they know something was wrong with Jessie?' she thought to herself. She was also shocked at their appearance. One being that Meowth had evolved into a strong looking Persian, and two, that James had matured into a relatively handsome man. His face still retained that boyish appearance, but the rest of his body had caught up with his age. He had filled out and was no longer a lanky teenager...and given that he was wearing cargo pants and a white tank, she could easily see his well maintained muscles.

"James, Persian. It's a surprise to see you here. How did you know something happened to Jessie?" Misty asked, raising an eyebrow, shifting her weight a bit nervously from one foot to the other. She wasn't a fan of being taken off guard, and this was definitely one of those moments.

"It's an interesting story, but I can explain it if you'd like," James said, looking up at her. She nodded. He began to explain what happened with the submarine and how it had become tangled in their fishing net. He told her that he suspected Jessie had tried to escape the vessel but took in too much water, and was injured in the process of her escape.

She nodded again, understanding to some extent, but the story was surprising. Misty was curious to hear Jessie's side of the story.

"So, twerp, whats youse doin here?" Persian exclaimed out of sheer curiosity.

"Excuse me, my name is Misty. And I'm here because Jessie just so happens to be my best friend. We work together at the Cerulean location of the Kanto Oceanography Lab and Rehabilitation Center. Jessie runs the lab, and Brock, my husband, and I, run the rehabilitation center. I'm listed as Jessie's emergency contact in her medical records, so the doctor called me as soon as she arrived at the hospital. This was the soonest I could get here as I had taken a drive out to Saffron City to pick up some new equipment for the rehab center," she explained, having approached the front desk. "Hold on just a moment, James, Persian." She then asked the lady at the desk to let Jessie's nurse know that she had arrived.

"Give me a few minutes, miss, I'll let them know you're here." The lady told her, and disappeared into the back.

Misty took a seat across the room from James and Persian. "Well, I'm pretty sure Jessie doesn't want to talk to you or see you guys. I can ask her, but she was pretty adamant the other night when I talked to her. She said she just needs to leave the past in the past, she was pretty shaken up about running into you both. I think it's best that you just go home. If she wants to talk to you, I will give her your phone number. Can you write it down for me?" She said, not expecting Jessie to even bother with a number, but she did it purely to be polite to her former partners. James quickly reached into his wallet and grabbed an old receipt, scribbling his phone number and address onto the back.

"Here. I understand, I'll give her space. I was just concerned after what happened and wanted to make sure she will be OK," he said, in a somewhat whiny voice, standing up and handing the paper to Misty. "Would you mind just sending me a text or something to let me know how she's doing later? I'd appreciate it. I know she doesn't care, but I do."

He bit back tears forming in his eyes, but he knew he needed to act stronger than that. Unlike Jessie had done for him, he had forgiven her for her behavior that day. It didn't justify what he had said either, but all he wanted was to be able to apologize for his mistakes. He knew Jessie wasn't perfect, and he wasn't either, which is exactly why he had forgiven her words and her actions. Jessie had always had a fiery temper, and it had all just come to one big explosion that day. He also knew she was the kind of person to hold a grudge, but he had hoped that after all this time, perhaps it had softened a bit and she had remembered all the good times they had shared. Clearly, not so much. He shrugged it off for the moment, and put on as tough a face as he could.

Misty had nodded again in response to his request for her to text him later. "Thanks, James, for rescuing her. If she won't say it, I will."

James smiled another forlorn smile. "Well, I certainly wasn't just going to leave her there. Friend or not. Thank YOU, Misty, for being her friend. I know she needed a close girlfriend to talk to. Not who I would have expected by any means, but it's still a good thing. I guess we will be on our way." He poked at Persian, gesturing with his head toward the door. Persian grunted, rolled his eyes, and got up to follow James.

They were about out the door, when all of a sudden, James realized something. "Wait...Misty, can you do me just one more favor?" He turned, and looked at her.

"Depending on what it is...yes." She replied.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out two un-enlarged Pokeballs, and walked over to her. "Here...these are her Pokemon, Wobbufet and Gourgeist. She left them with me on accident when we had our fight years ago. I don't think she realized they were in my backpack when she took off. I've taken care of them every day, alongside my own Pokemon. Persian explained to them a long time ago that she didn't abandon them on purpose, and that someday we'd find her. They've been waiting ever since. Will you please give them to her?"

Misty gasped in surprise. "Oh James...she will be so glad to see them. I know she's missed them, especially Gourgeist. They were quite close, as I'm sure you know."

James nodded. "Yes they were. I'm glad that I finally found her again for their sake. Goodbye, Misty." With that, he and Persian disappeared out the door.

Misty sat back down in her seat and placed the two Pokeballs gently into her purse. A few minutes passed before a nurse came out into the waiting room.

"Misty, Jessica is awake, you can come back and see her now," the nurse said. Misty rose and followed her.

-x-

Jessie had awoken slowly and groggily from her ordeal in the submarine. Her vision swam in and out, and occasionally she could hear voices wherever she was. She also felt a dull ache in her chest and an even worse ache in her right leg. She groaned loudly and opened her eyes.

She was in a bright white hospital room...she had to blink a few times to orient herself. Jessie at first had no idea how she had gotten here. Why was she in a hospital? Then, everything came back to her, like a rock crashing down a hill into the bottom. 'The submarine. The netting...the broken glass...well, that explains the pain in mu leg...' she thought, closing her eyes again. A nurse approached her.

"Jessica, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?" The nurse asked. She was a plump, older woman with glasses.

"I...feel...like something hit me in the chest, and my leg hurts," Jessie replied, with a raspy voice that surprised even her.

"I can imagine. Your leg has been stitched up, the glass from your submarine pod did a number on the fine muscle tissue below. You'll have to keep off of it for a few weeks to allow it time to heal. And your chest, since you inhaled water, it'll be sore for a while. The EMT's that picked you up in the ambulance also put an intubation tube down your throat to help you get oxygen after they suctioned out some of the water, which explains your raspy voice. Honestly, you're lucky to be alive. If it wasn't for the man that rescued you, you'd have been in a much worse place," the nurse explained.

"I...I don't remember anything about anyone rescuing me. I just remember blacking out after getting tangled in fishing netting..." she trailed off, trying to recall what happened beyond that, but no, all she could remember was black.

"That's okay, honey. He and his Persian are waiting out in the waiting room, just to make sure you're okay," the nurse told her, as she busied herself running another set of vitals on Jessie. As Jessie's vision became a little bit clearer, she was able to see the nurse's nametag...Martha. After a moment, Jessie thought to herself, 'But...wait...did she just say 'he and his persian?'...and then it hit her. 'No way. It can't be.' She decided to ask Martha a question."

"Excuse me, can you tell me if the man that rescued me had lavender, shoulder length hair, possibly pulled back into a pony tail?"

Martha turned to her. "Why yes, he did, actually."

Jessie's heart sank. All she wanted was to distance herself from them. Now that they had reappeared in her life after all this time, it seemed that they were popping up everywhere. "Ah, thank you," she replied quietly.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. It opened to reveal Misty and another hospital worker. The worker spoke. "This is Jessica's friend Misty, here to see her. See is the emergency contact on Jessica's medical record."

Martha greeted her and the other worker exited the room. "Misty, make yourself comfortable. Jessica just woke up and we were going over what happened a little bit."

"Please, call me Jessie. I'm not used to being called Jessica," Jessie said quickly.

Martha chuckled. "Of course. I am going to go do my rounds, I'll let you two visit for a bit. I'll check back in soon." She excused herself, and exited the room.

Misty sat down in a chair next to the bed. "Oh Jessie, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now."

"Honestly, Mist, I've felt worse. I think I'll be alright in a few weeks, probably. My leg just hurts and it feels like someone hit me in the chest with a baseball bat," Jessie explained.

"Ouch. I'm so glad you're okay though. It sounds like the netting from the fishing boat snagged in your propellor as you were returning back toward the surface. I'm also glad that someone was there to save you." Misty said...purposely avoiding mentioning the fact that that particular someone had been James and Persian.

"Yeah...that's true. It sounds like it was James and Persian...from what I understand. The nurse told me a man and his persian were the ones that saved me...so I asked her if the man had lavender hair and she said yes. I just don't understand why fate keeps throwing them into my path. I just want to let go." Jessie said, surprising Misty when she mentioned knowing it was James and Persian who had saved her.

"Right. I wasn't going to say anything, but since you know, I guess it doesn't matter. I spoke to them in the waiting room. I was surprised to see them there, it took me off guard." Misty replied, running her fingers through her orange hair.

"Ha, now you know how I feel." Jessie said with a snort...then grimacing in pain. "Ok, no snorting and no laughing. It hurts."

Misty chuckled a little, which in turn made Jessie laugh a little more. "STOP IT, Misty!"

At that, Misty launched into a full blown giggle fit at Jessie's facial expression. A few seconds later when she could breathe again, she said, "I'm sorry Jess, it's just funny. I'll stop now. Clearly, fate has some sort of plan for you guys that it just won't let you out of."

"Yeah yeah, I just wish it'd stop already." Jessie said, closing her eyes with a raspy growl.

"I hate to continue the conversation about them because I know it makes you upset and uncomfortable, but I do have one more thing that's important. James asked me to give you something," Misty told her, reaching into her purse, pulling out the two Pokeballs. "He said he'd been keeping these and taking care of them for you since you left. He knew you didn't abandon them on purpose, and had Persian explain to them what happened. They've been waiting to find you again someday. James said if anything, he's glad to get them back to you."

Jessie gasped in shock.

"Is it...is it really them? Wobbufet and Gourgeist?!" She exclaimed.

"Yes." Misty said, and handed her the Pokeballs. Jessie hit the button on them, enlarging the ball. She tossed them into the air, and glowing red appeared in the room, before the blue blob that was Wobbufet, and a strange pumpkin shaped Pokemon that was Gourgeist, took form. As soon as they realized it was her, they came over to the bed and gave her the best hugs they could. She winced and gasped in pain, and they both backed off in surprise.

"It's okay, you two, I know you're just happy to see me. It's been a long time, I've missed you both. I had an accident, so just be gentle," Jessie explained to them. They nodded happily. Misty smiled as she watched the three of them.

"I'm so glad you have them back," Misty said, with a smile. "It certainly was nice of James to care for them after all this time."

Jessie snorted again. "Yeah...nice. I'm still mad at him. He was nothing but a mistake, and a jerk."

Misty turned her face away, while Wobbufet and Gourgeist hung their heads a bit. They were grateful to have had James there to care for them, and from their Pokemon perspectives...he was nothing but a wonderful trainer.

"Jeeze you guys, don't look like I threw you out the front door or anything. Look, James and I just had a major falling out. It's in the past. For the millionth time, I'd really, really like to keep it that way..." Jessie said firmly. The Pokemon nodded, knowing that it wasn't worth their time to argue with her. In some ways, Jessie was still the same old Jessie. She sighed, closing her eyes again. "Ugh, I feel like I've been hit by a train, and I feel like I haven't slept in a week."

Misty looked at her and said, "Jessie, I'm going to head home and let you sleep. The nurse said they were planning to discharge you tomorrow morning. I'll wait for you to call me and come pick you up then. Does that sound okay? Oh, and I did already call the Dragonair to let them know you wouldn't be there tonight. Your shift starts in a few hours. Sounds like Melody was more than happy to cover for you since you covered for her last weekend."

"Thank you, Misty, I had totally forgotten about that. I haven't heard anything from the nurse about when I'll be discharged, but I'll call or text you as soon as I know. Thank you so much for everything, really." Jessie replied tiredly. She hadn't opened her eyes again.

"You're welcome. Talk to you soon, Jess," Misty said as she was leaving.

Once she was gone, the room fell into silence, and Jessie quickly drifted off into a pain drug induced sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad to hear everyone is enjoying the story, and I'm trying my best to keep everyone in character as best as possible. This chapter might be a bit shorter than the rest, as I'm limited on time, but I'm trying to get them out as timely as I can, so keep checking back, and keep reviewing! The more reviews I get, the more inspired I am to keep writing! ;) Onward! Chapter 6

The next morning, Jessie had awoken in far less pain then the previous day, which was a bonus, but the painkillers had done a nasty number on her head. She felt massively hungover, dazed, and nauseous to boot. All she wanted was to get home and sleep in her own bed. Misty had come to pick her up from the hospital around 10am that morning, and after some lengthy instructions from the doctor that included Jessie staying off her leg for at least two weeks (which included crutches, much to Jessie's dismay), painkillers for at least a few more days, and removal of stitches within the week, they were sent on their way. Misty stopped at the pharmacy to pick up the prescription and crutches, and drove back home to their shared property. After some discussion, it was decided that for the first few days, Jessie would stay with Misty and Brock and sleep downstairs on their pull out couch just so she didn't have to manage up the stairs to her apartment above their garage.

Jessie found the time to pass rather slowly and frankly, quite boringly, since Misty and Brock had to tend to Jessie's duties at the lab on top of their own. Over the first week, she was able to use her laptop to work on compiling some general research reports but it wasn't anything she could complete with much thoroughness at the moment without proper continuing research. She instead found herself flipping through old magazine and watching old romantics or drama reruns on PokeFlix.

The following weekend, Brock and Misty had returned home from the lab and were preparing dinner for the three of them. Jessie had carefully hobbled her way into the kitchen on her crutches, and had sat down at the table to carry on some conversation with real people instead of the characters on the TV. She had a bad habit of yelling at characters when she didn't like what they were doing.

"So, how's everything at the lab? Are the Pokemon doing well in the new rehab facility?" Jessie asked, rubbing the side of her injured leg gently, inspecting the stitches.

Brock turned to her and smiled. "Yes, they're doing great. They really seem to enjoy having more space, I think it's really helping them heal quicker and it's also helping the younger ones grow because they have the extra space to exercise. The larger swim tank is a great addition, and the dry land section is a bonus as well. Mist has been doing great with getting everything set up just right," he said, and Misty beamed with pride.

Jessie smiled in response. "That's good. The doctor called today, he said I could come get the stitches out tomorrow. Could one of you drive me in?"

"Sure Jess, not a problem at all. Do you still have to use the crutches?" Misty responded, looking over at Jessie's leg.

"I'm not really sure yet. I'll have to wait and see what he says."

"Ok. What time?"

"Doctor said to be there at 10am."

"Sounds good. Why don't you just stay here one more night and then tomorrow night you can get settled back up in your apartment, and hopefully you'll be done with the crutches too and you won't have to worry about getting up the stairs with them?" Misty said, as she placed a big bowl of steamy ramen down in front of Jessie, followed by Brock with two additional bowls. They sat down at the table and joined Jessie for their meal.

"Hey...Jessie, did you figure out anything that you can remember about the Remoraid when you were out on your sub expedition? I wasn't going to ask, but we really are at a dead end. The population is declining pretty quick and we just don't have any idea why. There is no reason for it whatsoever according to any of our research. The Remoraid have no major predators nearby." Brock queried after they had been eating for a short while.

Jessie paused for a moment. "Honestly...no, I can't think of anything. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. In fact, I didn't really see any Remoraid at all."

"It's so strange, I just don't understand it. Misty hasn't been able to come up with anything either, have you?" Brock asked, looking across the table at the orange haired girl.

"No, I haven't been able to. I truly don't understand it either."

The three sighed a collective sigh, and continued eating their ramen. They exchanged some small talk, and settled into the living room for the evening to watch a few shows before bedtime.

-x-

The next morning, Jessie had her stitches successfully removed by the doctor and was given the okay to stop using her crutches thanks to her quick healing. The doctor was pleased with how well her healing had progressed and said that he didn't think he'd need to see her back in the office again unless any complications arose, and warned her not to get caught up in another mess like that again. He also suggested that although she could walk on her leg again, she should still take it easy for a few weeks and perhaps wait a bit before returning to her dancing at the Dragonair. Working at the lab doing low impact work was one thing, but dancing should wait. Jessie agreed, despite really missing being active and having fun with her coworkers.

Misty had offered to drive Jessie back home, but she had declined and said after a week of being stuck on crutches, she'd like to take a short walk and would head over to the Dragonair just for a quick visit to chat with her boss and update her on the situation. Misty agreed and had gone on her way to check up on the Pokemon in the Rehab Center.

The Dragonair was about three quarters of a mile away from the hospital, and Jessie thought it would be nice to walk along the water. She just couldn't ignore the call of the water these days, no matter what happened. She walked down to the Cerulean Promenade, albeit slower than her normal pace, enjoying the salty sea breeze and warm sun. The sound of boats and seagulls dominated her ears, and she happened to glance over toward a big building with big black lettering that said Cerulean Fish Co on it. There were numerous large fishing boats docked in front of the building, and a number of people running to and fro. She paused to watch for a moment. As she did, something caught her eye. She saw a Persian aboard the boat that was second closest to where she was standing, and it was on it's hind legs looking into a barrel.

"'Ey Jim, 'dese stupid Remoraid are all wese ever catch 'dese days. Da captain is gonna be mad again, doncha tink?" the Persian yowled angrily, turning toward the bow of the boat, where a man was sitting down, looking over a booklet of papers.

"Maybe, but at least it's something. Some of the other boats aren't even bringing in anything at all. We've at least gotten a haul regardless of what it is so that's a plus." The man stood and as he came into view, it was, not surprisingly, James.

For a moment, Jessie inwardly wanted to scream. Why?! Why why why? Why did this have to do with them? First off, she was furious because no matter where she seemed to go, they were always there now. Ever since she ran into Persian that night, they showed up everywhere. For nine years, she didn't so much as even hear their names, and then all of a sudden, she was either hearing about them or seeing them every other day or so when all she wanted was to forget about them. And now, to top it off, she just found out perhaps the key detail as to why the remoraid population was declining. And of course it had to do with them.

She balled up her fists in anger. They hadn't noticed her yet, and she didn't want them to. She whirled on her heels and despite a bit of an ache in her injured leg, she picked up the pace toward the Dragonair, fuming angrily yet again. The new Jessie wasn't typically this angry...but something about seeing those two brought out the old, temper prone Jessie. She seethed, but after a few minutes realized that it wasn't going to help anything.

"Breathe, Jessie. Just breathe." She said out loud, to help try to calm her nerves. She continued to walk down the promenade, and was out of the fishing district now. The scenery had changed to more touristy beach views, with beach towels and umbrellas dotting the sand, kids yelling and flying kites here and there or floating in the surf. It was peaceful and it helped calm her down. Within a few moments, she made a few turns and arrived at the Dragonair. Her nerves were still flaring a bit, but she had calmed enough and she went inside, telling herself that she'd deal with the remoraid issue after chatting with her boss for a bit.

-x-

An hour or so later, Jessie wrapped up her conversation with her boss. They had talked about what happened, and Jessie had explained what the doctor had told her about letting her leg heal before coming back. Her boss knew that working at the Dragonair was a second job for Jessie, but even so, she was very kind and understanding as she knew that Jessie loved her job. She agreed that it was a good idea to take it easy and keep her shifts covered for a few more weeks just to make sure her leg had time to adequately heal completely, and after a quick phone call to Melody, the shifts were quickly covered, no questions asked. Jessie thanked her and promised to drop by at least a few times to do Karaoke just for fun.

She stepped outside and grabbed her cell phone, dialing Misty's number. It rang a few times before she answered.

"Hey Jess, what's up?"

"Oh...do I have some dirt for you. But before I get into that, can you give me a ride from the Dragonair? I was going to walk home, but my leg is a little sore and I'd rather not push it. I can wait if you can't make it here right away."

"Yeah, no problem, just give me a few minutes to get down there."

"Ok, thanks! See you soon."

Jessie hung up the call and took a seat on a nearby bench to wait. A short time later, Misty's blue sports car pulled up in front of the building and Jessie got up and climbed in. Misty began the drive home.

"Ok, so you got me curious. What's this dirt you speak of?" She asked.

"Alright, so first...I absolutely cannot get rid of James and Persian. I just don't know why. I didn't actually run into them today, but I saw them and overheard their conversation. Which is what brings me to the dirt."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah. I think I have the answer to our Remoraid problem."

Misty gasped. "Really?"

"Yep. Persian was complaining about how all they can catch lately is Remoraid. Which, by the way, they work for Cerulean Fish Co...which explains why they were out on a boat and why they were the ones who rescued me. I'm guessing they were out fishing and my sub got caught up in their net."

Misty frowned. "Well, that would certainly explain it. I mean, I get it, they're a commercial fishing company and all, but we have to figure out a way to stop this. The Remoraid around here will be gone soon if they don't stop."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Speaking of that...I was going to mention...and you're probably not going to like it, but hear me out please, Jess."

Jessie groaned from her seat. "Fine." She knew Misty was always better at reasoning than she was.

"Listen, I was thinking that you really owe James and Persian a thank you for what they did for you. I know that it's probably the last thing that you want to do right now, especially because you want to put this all behind you," Jessie tried to interrupt, but Misty continued, "however, they did you a huge favor and they were genuinely concerned for your wellbeing. I truly don't believe that James is a bad person. I think you both separated on very poor terms and both of you said some terrible things to each other. The night you first ran into him, you said he tried to apologize to you. I really think he's just looking for some reconciliation. The least you can do is thank them for what they did and hear him out. It's the right thing to do. And remember, despite what happened, he took care of Wobuffet and Gourgeist for you without clouding their judgement of you. Jessie, he's a good guy who made some mistakes. Just like you're a good woman who made some mistakes. It by no means...means that you have to be friends. It just ties up loose ends, and honestly might make you feel better. And now that you mention the Remoraid situation, perhaps it could open up a door for you to explain the situation to him. Maybe he could help us somehow."

Jessie didn't reply. She knew Misty was right. At first she wanted to protest, but after listening to what Misty had to say, she couldn't come up with a valid argument otherwise. Although, Arceus knows she was going to at least attempt an argument. She wouldn't be Jessie if she didn't at least try to put up some sort of fight.

"But...I just really don't think that's a good idea. I truly just want to put my past behind me, Misty. I don't want him thinking I want to be his best friend or something."

"Jessie, that's not what this is about. This is about giving gratitude where gratitude is due. It's about being a good person."

"Fine. Give me his phone number and I'll send him a text or something."

"Um, no. You need to talk to him in person. This isn't just a "send a text" kind of thing."

"But Misty!"

"Jessie! I may be younger than you, but sometimes I feel like I'm older and wiser! Just trust me on this. I really think you'll feel at least a little bit better after this. Especially if we can somehow work something out with him about the Remoraid situation. Look, if you want, I'll even go with you and just be there for support, ok?"

"Alright, but only if you actually go. Otherwise, I'm just sending a text."

"Yes, I'll go. But for Arceus' sake, why must you be so stubborn?! You remind me of Brock!" Misty said with a chuckle. "I'll send him a message and see if he'll be home this evening for us to stop by. I have nothing planned and I know since you can't work at the Dragonair, you don't either."

Jessie sighed and put her chin in her hand. "You win."

Misty just smiled. She knew deep down inside that despite whatever Jessie was feeling right now, there was something special between Jessie and James, and she would do whatever she could to help them see it. A few moments later, they pulled into the driveway and she parked the car.

After stepping out, she grabbed her phone and sent a quick text to James. 'Hey James, this is Misty. I was wondering if you and Meowth might be home this evening. I was thinking of coming by with Jessie. She has a few things she'd like to talk to you about. She asked me to come along, if you don't mind.'  
.3

She followed Jessie up into her apartment just to make sure she got settled in, since she had been staying in their living room the past week after her accident. About five minutes passed and her phone vibrated in her pocket. James had replied to her text. 'Yes, we will be home this evening. That's fine. I'm surprised she wants to talk. Do you still have the paper with my address? If so, I'll see you later. Otherwise, let me know and I'll send it again.' Misty responded letting him know that yes, she had it, and they'd be over later that evening.

"Alright Jess, do you need any help with anything? I figured I'm going to head over and do some laundry, I could throw some of yours in with mine if you need me to. We've got a few hours to burn before we need to head over to James'."

At that, Jessie's expression sank a bit. "I take it he texted you back?"

"Yeah, he said they'd be home later."

"Ok. What time are we going?"

"How about 6?"

"You tell me, you're the one in charge of this. You know how I feel. Old Jessie would be a mile down the road by now, so consider this progress."

"Ok, 6 then. Bring some of your research info to show them, if you can. Maybe your laptop with some of the statistics and some of the video from your previous submarine expeditions."

"Sure, Mist. I think I'm going to take a shot and take a nap."

Misty laughed. "You do that, Jess. I'll see you in a few hours. It's 2pm now, so don't sleep forever." With that, she went back over to her house to finish her chores before she had to get ready for the evening. 


End file.
